Sunday's 41-23 loss to the Patriots ended a six-game winning streak and dropped Denver to 8-6, which might feel a bit ominous for the fan base, even in this otherwise magical season.

The Broncos have entered Week 15 with an 8-5 record three times in the past four seasons. What followed the previous two times wasn't pretty.

The 2008 team started 8-5 under Mike Shanahan before dropping its final three games, a tumble that cost the two-time Super Bowl-winning coach his job.

Then, of course, there's the 2009 Broncos, who under quarterback Kyle Orton and first-year coach Josh McDaniels became just the third team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to start the season with six wins and miss the playoffs (the 1978 Redskins and 2003 Vikings share the same ugly distinction).

"We need to concentrate on getting better. We showed today that we're not ready to go to the playoffs and make a push," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey told The Associated Press on Sunday. "We've got to get better, and we only have two or three weeks to do it. If we don't, then we'll be sitting home."

The Broncos hold a one-game lead in the AFC West over the Raiders and Chargers (both 7-7), with games remaining against the Bills and -- in a twist of fate that large sections of Hollywood would dismiss as too on-the-nose -- Orton's Chiefs.